Lecture Two

TEAM DYNAMICS

What are Teams/Group?

Groups of two or more
people
Exist to fulfill a purpose
Interdependent -- interact
and influence each other
Mutually accountable for
achieving common goals

What are Teams/Group?

Stability

Social interaction

- Members stay together

and function as a unit

- Ability to influence each other

Group
Common
interest
- Helps to achieve mutual goals

Recognition
as a group
- Members perceive
differences between
members and non-members

Why do
people join
groups?

Why do people join groups?

Can achieve ends that would not
be possible alone
Satisfy mutual interests - by
bonding together people can satisfy
mutual goals
Achieve security - groups provide
safety in numbers and protection
against common enemies
Fill social needs - satisfy peoples
basic need to be with others
Fill need for self-esteem - groups
provide opportunities for people to
be recognized

Formal

Defined by the organizations structure

Informal

Neither formally structured nor organizationally

determined

Varieties of Groups in Organizations

Groups

Formal Groups

Command
Groups

Task
Groups

Informal Groups

Interest
Groups

Friendship
Groups

Formal groups
created by the parent organization
intended to direct the members toward some organizational goal

Command
group determined by the connection
between individuals who are formal
members of the organization
determined by the organizations rules
regarding who reports to whom

Task
formed around a specific task
expertise rather than position in the
organization determine membership

Informal groups
without direction from the organization,
develops around a common goal or interests of the members

Interest
group of employees who voluntarily
come together to express and satisfy a
common interest(s)

Friendship
group extends beyond the workplace
develops without encouragement
from management
offers opportunities to satisfy social
needs

Stages of Team Development

Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Adjourning

Forming - members get to know each other and seek to establish

ground rules
- stage complete when individuals begin to think of
themselves as a group
Storming - members resist control by group leaders and show hostility
- stage complete when conflict is resolved and the groups
leadership is accepted
Norming - group becomes more cohesive/organized, shared feelings
become common
- stage complete when individuals accept a common set of
expectations about the way to do things
Performing - energy devoted to accomplishing goals
Adjourning - occurs when goals are met and the group is no longer
needed
- end may be immediate or gradual

Group Decision Making

Strengths
Generate more
complete information
and knowledge
Increased diversity of
views
Increased acceptance
of a solution

Weaknesses
Takes longer
Conformity pressures
Discussions can be
dominated by one or a
few members
Ambiguous
responsibility for the
final outcome

Comparing Groups and Teams

Four Types of Teams

Problem-Solving Teams
Members often from the
same department
Share ideas or suggest
improvements
Rarely given authority to
unilaterally implement any
of their suggested actions

Cross-Functional Teams
Employees from about the same hierarchical level,
but from different work areas, who come together to
accomplish a task.

Task forces
Committees

A Cross-Functional R&D Team

Self-Directed Teams Defined

Cross-functional work groups organized around work

processes, that complete an entire piece of work
requiring several interdependent tasks, and that have
substantial autonomy over the completing of those
tasks.

SELF-DIRECTED TEAMS
A group of employees working together
without any managerial control.
Successful SDWT, an organization
must select skilled, self-driven people
and make them aware of companys
goals.

Advantages and disadvantages

Business Week recently reported that self-directed work teams are,

on average, 30 to 50 percent more productive than their
conventional counterparts.
The following are some examples of organizations that attribute
major productivity results to the advantages of self-directed work
teams:
* AT&T -- Increased the quality of its operator service by 12
percent.
* Federal Express -- Cut service errors by 13 percent.
* Johnson & Johnson -- Achieved inventory reductions of $6
million.
* Shenandoah Life Insurance -- Cut staffing needs, saving
$200,000 per year, while handling a 33-percent greater volume
of work.
* 3M's Hutchinson facility -- Increased production gains by 300
percent.

Virtual Teams Defined

Teams whose members
operate across space,
time, and organizational
boundaries and are
linked through
information technologies
to achieve organizational
tasks.
Courtesy of PricewaterhouseCoopers

Virtual Teams

Virtual Team Success Factors

Member characteristics
Technology savvy
Self-leadership skills
Emotional intelligence

Flexible use of communication technologies

Have the toolkit of comm. Vehicle (email, video
conferencing etc)

Opportunities to meet face-to-face

High level bonding and mutual u/standing

AATeamTeamEffectiveness
Effectiveness
Model
Model

Key Components of
Effective Teams
Context
Composition
Work Design
Process

Contextual Components

Presence of adequate resources

Effective leadership and structure
Climate of trust in the team
Performance evaluation and reward system
that reflects team contributions

Team Composition
Components
Abilities of members
Technical expertise
Problem-solving
Interpersonal

Personality
open-minded

Diversity
Size of teams
Member preferences

Work Design Components

Freedom
Autonomy
Skill variety
Task identity
Task significance

Enhances motivation
and team
effectiveness

Process Components
Common plan and
purpose
Specific goals
Team efficacy/efficiency
Low levels of conflict
Minimized social loafing

How to Minimize Social Loafing

1. Form smaller teams
6 and 12 consultants - possible to split teams into smaller teams - making
each persons individual contribution more noticeable.
2. Specialize tasks
easier to see everyones contribution when each team member performs a
different work activity.
3. Measure individual performance
minimized when each members contribution is measured
measurement can be done for some work of individual members of these
team.
4. Increase job enrichment
are assigned more motivating jobs, such as requiring more skill variety or
having direct contact with clients
5. Select motivated employees
value team membership and believe in working toward the teams
objectives.

Turning Individuals Into Team Players

The Challenges
Overcoming individual
resistance to team
membership.
Countering the influence
of individualistic cultures.
Introducing teams in an
organization that has
historically valued individual
achievement.

Turning Individuals Into Team

Players
Selection
Need employees who have the
interpersonal as well as technical skills

Training
Workshops on problem-solving,
communications, negotiation, conflictmanagement and coaching skills

Rewards
Encourage cooperative efforts rather
than individual ones

Teams Arent Always the Answer:

Three Tests
Complexity of Work:
Can the work be done better by more than one
person?

Common Purpose:
Does the work create a common purpose or set of
goals for the people in the group that is more than the
aggregate of individual goals?

Interdependence:
Are the members of the group interdependent?

Keep in Mind
Management Requires That
Teams:
Are small enough to be
efficient and effective.
Are properly trained in
required skills.
Allocated enough time to
work on problems.
Are given authority to
resolve problems and take
corrective action.